[Tewder]

... getting people back to work so they can start paying taxes again rather than draining funds through unemployment/welfare?

 

[afransen]

Sounds like Ontario will be taking full advantage of the money on offer.

We'll see when it's spent.

I get it that you don't like the Conservatives but can you offer up something more constructive than the 'I don't like their policies so they must be goof-offs playing a game' stance? The reason we have different parties is because they have different approaches to the same problems. That's a good thing, no? To blame them for struggling to hold power is kind of silly. That's what all politicians and political parties do, especially in a minority position.

It goes beyond disliking their policies. They have done a great many things to make Ottawa notably less transparent, accountable and functional. There are a few areas where I'm willing to give them some credit, such as the creation of the PBO, but even that was deliberately handicapped to limit its effectiveness.

 

[kEiThZ]

I for one, am confident the money will be spent. The political sanction would be too high. The Liberal requests for accountability will be in place and the public will not accept the passage of a stimulus which does not stimulate. There's other good stuff in the budget such as the creation of a national securities regulator. We should applaud those initiatives.

 

[jks]

OK, so budget passed, the Liberals supported it. Now what?? Nothing has happened since. The entire budget is completely gone from the news now. Like it never happened! And whatever happened to the infrastructure money? Apparently it will all go through the Build canada fund. Can someone please explain why "it means nothing will get built" (Miller). How much red tape is involved?

 

[afransen]

A lot of money promise through Build Canada from previous years still has not been distributed.

 

[lordmandeep]

so it is just sitting there like an long forgotten savings account...

 

[jks]

If we open it now, it could be like a buried trasure chest will billions of dollars for infrastructure =D. Doubt it though =(

 

[kEiThZ]

That's what the Liberal provision is for. Iggy gets to sink the gov't if they renege on their promise. I highly doubt that Harper wants to make it easy for him to do that. Let's wait for that first report card to see how serious the Conservatives are on stimulating the economy.

 

[Roy G Biv]

That's what the Liberal provision is for. Iggy gets to sink the gov't if they renege on their promise. I highly doubt that Harper wants to make it easy for him to do that. Let's wait for that first report card to see how serious the Conservatives are on stimulating the economy.

I'm surprised anyone is investing any value in these reports or Ignatieff's interpretation of them.

It's a political game, people.

 

[kEiThZ]

I'm surprised anyone is investing any value in these reports or Ignatieff's interpretation of them.

It's a political game, people.

Sure it is....and that's exactly why it will work. The Conservatives will have to keep the metrics in those reports fairly positive or they will give added fire to the Liberals.

 

[lordmandeep]

It appears everyone is in a good position and a terrible position at the same time.

Harper will keep power for a few more months however has been severely weakened as a leader.

Igantieff has really brought the Liberal party back and likely can get them back over 100 seats, however they are in no position to fight an election.

The NDP has been sent to the backwaters where there outdated idiotic beliefs belong.

 

[kEiThZ]

One really positive development that nobody is talking about is the extra cash for VIA to build a third rail. It's supposed to lop off 30 mins for a trip to Ottawa or Montreal. That's huge. That reduces the air-train trip time differential downtown-to-downtown to around 1 hr. And given that you have 4 hrs on the train to be productive, it makes VIA a significantly more attractive proposition. As a regular VIA user, I can't wait for this project to be completed.

 

[jks]

Yeah, the money for VIA is exciting news. There was also some money for VIA for rebuilding more of the Renaissance coach cars.

 

[kEiThZ]

Another announcement that was missed was the federal push to create a common securities regulator. That could be huge for Toronto.

 

[afransen]

Not missed by people paying attention. Probably one of the more controversial elements.

I'm not sure how big a deal it will be for Toronto. There will quite likely continue to be offices in each province. What it might do is make Canada a more appealing place to do business by doing away with some of the hodge-podge of regulation. Baby steps...